# Carema Etichetta Bianca (2012)

- **Producer:** Luigi Ferrando
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Nebbiolo
- **Region:** Piemonte, Italy
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.0%
- **Average price:** €80
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 18–20 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** rose, violet, cherry, raspberry, white pepper, herbaceous, smoke, cedar, tobacco, leather, forest floor, mushroom

## About this wine

Luigi Ferrando is a legendary name in the tiny alpine appellation of Carema, located in northern Piedmont at the foot of the Alps. For five generations, the Ferrando family has championed the heroic viticulture of this dramatic region, where vines are trained on overhead pergolas supported by historic stone pillars called pilun. Giuseppe Ferrando famously saved the appellation from extinction in the mid-20th century. This wine, the Etichetta Bianca (White Label), is the estate's flagship expression, representing the pinnacle of high-altitude Nebbiolo. It was the first wine ever imported by legendary US importer Neal Rosenthal, cementing its cult status among Italian wine connoisseurs.

## Interesting facts

- The vines are trained on pergolas supported by 'pilun'—stone pillars that absorb daytime heat and radiate it back to the grapes at night.
- This was the very first wine imported by legendary US importer Neal Rosenthal in 1980, who calls it his single favorite wine.
- With only 2.5 hectares of vines, Ferrando produces a mere 7,000 to 7,200 bottles of this flagship Carema wine annually.

## Food pairing

The high acidity and firm, structured tannins of this alpine Nebbiolo demand rich, savory dishes with ample fat and protein. The wine's natural acidity cuts through the richness of braised meats and buttery risottos, while the robust tannins are softened by proteins. The earthy, forest-floor undertones of the aged wine beautifully mirror the earthy flavors of wild mushrooms, truffles, and game.

## Wine making process

The grapes are hand-harvested from steep, terraced vineyards on glacial moraine soils. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks using indigenous yeasts, with a skin maceration of 10 to 14 days. In accordance with Carema DOC regulations, the wine undergoes a total of 36 months of aging before release. For the Etichetta Bianca, 30 of these months are spent in large, neutral oak barrels (botti) to allow slow, micro-oxygenation without imparting dominant oak flavors, preserving the delicate, translucent character of alpine Nebbiolo. The wine is bottled unfiltered with minimal sulfur additions.